Angelica Jopling

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if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what happens when there is a woman both in front and behind the camera? it's a question porter magazine recently posed to three leading photographers for its latest All-female warrior issue. here, sam taylor-johnson, in her own words, on why she chose to capture her eldest daughter.

I could have shot a few of my favourite women warriors, such as Lynsey Addario, Patricia Arquette, Angelina Jolie Pitt ... but I chose my daughter Angelica because of her potential and what she's already endured, the things that come with being my daughter. She has had to up sticks and move from London to Vancouver to Los Angeles and be adaptable and change in different situations at a formative time in her life. Also, she's the eldest of my four children and I think it's important to focus on the next generation of female warriors, the ones who have the gumption to strive forward.

Angelica recently took herself off to a UN Women conference in New York where Patricia Arquette, Hillary Clinton and Melinda Gates spoke. It celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. She was picked from the audience to speak about what it is like to be a teenage girl today. Can you imagine speaking in front of that calibre of woman? She wasn't meant to be speaking, she was pulled out randomly, and she stood up and had the courage to say something. She's only 18, but she went to New York because she's interested in the subject – she's a strong feminist and belongs to GLI (Girls Leadership Institute), which focuses on education in poor countries and teaches girls how to communicate with each other. I was sent the clip of her speaking and it was one of those teary moments. It's funny, we were talking last night and Angelica asked me, "Mum, do you find you panic if you're not doing something every waking moment of the day, if you're not achieving something important? There's so much to be done in the world." Talk about the apple not falling far from the tree. I love my image of her because it has both a strength and an innocence to it. Mind you, photographing a teenage girl, one who's had years of selfie practice, that's not easy."

The full feature of The Female Gaze appears in the all-women photography issue of Porter, on sale globally in February. The issue is also available as a digital edition or click here.